The Ducks’ Corey Perry has been ineffective since his return from a knee injury and his seven goals and 16 assists are insufficient production for a player earning $10 million this season. He will skate with the fourth line for now. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

ANAHEIM — Maybe it wasn’t as doom and gloom as Ducks coach Randy Carlyle stressed Monday following a one-sided home loss to San Jose, but that didn’t stop him from moving big pieces about the room.

The serious tone that was the Ducks’ practice session at Honda Center was reflected in the look and the sound, with familiar faces in some unfamiliar places digesting the messages an animated Carlyle was trying to get across.

The most dramatic change was on right wing. It started with Ondrej Kase playing on the top line in a move that Carlyle made Sunday, which paid off instantly with the productive youngster setting up Ryan Getzlaf for an early third-period goal.

Further exploration appears to be in the works. And that meant Corey Perry was shifted down in the lineup. The longtime scorer participated with normal fourth-line forwards Chris Wagner and Antoine Vermette.

The role change for Perry might not be permanent. But it is significant. He’s been ineffective since his return from a knee injury and his seven goals and 16 assists are insufficient production for a player earning $10 million this season.

Conversely, Kase has been the Ducks’ hottest forward of late. The 22-year-old has three goals and four assists in five games since coming back from a bout with the flu. The winger has occasionally played with Getzlaf in the past and Carlyle is promoting someone who is producing.

“We’ve done this with Kase before,” Carlyle said. “We’ve moved him around and we’ve moved Silfverberg, whose another player that falls into that. Silvy playing with Kes (Ryan Kesler) and Cogs (Andrew Cogliano) at this point, he hasn’t provided a tremendous amount of offense.

“Corey Perry is another. So Kase is the strong suit on the right side right now, the strong hand. So we moved some people around.”

Before their 6-2 loss to the Sharks, the Ducks were 8-3-1 over their previous 12 games. Carlyle noted that “but it’s the performance within the performance that bothers us in some of the situations.” A sore spot is drawing only nine penalties and taking 16 over the last four games.

Hence, the changes. Silfverberg was practicing with Adam Henrique and Nick Ritchie, while Andrew Cogliano was with Derek Grant and J.T. Brown. Grant has filled in for Ryan Kesler, who has been given practice days off for maintenance. Carlyle insisted it’s about putting pieces together to spark the whole.

“I’m not a guy to keep players on edge,” Carlyle said. “I don’t think that would be the term I would ever use. It’s more of finding the right combination to stimulate our group to play to a higher level. The only tool that I have is ice time.”

Cam Fowler said it is no surprise to see occasional shake-ups over a long season. It is understood that coaches are there to “press the right buttons” to get players to perform to their satisfaction.

“The coaches are going to make adjustments along the way,” Fowler said. “That’s part of their job. We always feel like they’re putting us in the best position to succeed. If they don’t think that things are working, they’re going to make adjustments.

“The biggest thing – and Randy’s talked about it – has been self-improvement lately. You got to take a look in the mirror and see what more you can bring. It’s only so much you can control.”

The Ducks have to start to controlling their own fate. They’ve yet to win more than three in a row. Meanwhile, Colorado won its 10th straight game to drop the Ducks four points out of a playoff spot.

Rickard Rakell said lineup changes do catch a player’s attention and sees them as a means where “you can never feel too comfortable in your situation.” His view is it isn’t a negative and the Ducks have dealt with change all season due to all the injury problems early on.

“I know we’re a very desperate team right now,” Rakell said. “We all feel like we can be better than what we’re playing right now. Different coaches have different strategies. Sometimes, just a change can be a positive thing. You get a little spark on your line or anything like that.

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